Terror on Capitol Hill

Following the Capitol Hill riots, it will be up to newly elected U.S. president Joe Biden, and his administration, to heal a deeply divided nation, writes Anne O’Keefe. CREDIT: UNSPLASH

ANNE O’KEEFE

What began as a somewhat normal day for Americans was soon disrupted as the nation, and the world, watched in utter disbelief as the U.S. Capitol was invaded by its own people — by supporters of former president Donald Trump.

A mass demonstration thrown by many loyal Trump supporters was organized in protest of Congress confirming President Joe Biden’s win of this past November’s federal election.

Thousands of protesters from across America traveled to the nation’s capital to dispute the election outcome and wreak havoc. The raid, which The New York Times reported was formally organized by far-right groups via social media, was the culmination of years of suppressed feelings felt by these Americans.

On Jan. 6 at roughly 1 p.m., the chanting crowd of Trump supporters marched their way to the Capitol Hill building, flags in tote, prepared to challenge the election result. While officers struggled to keep the crowds at bay, their effort proved useless as the mob broke through the barricades around 2:30 p.m., not long after arriving on scene. Once inside, the group immediately made its way into the building and headed for the House and Senate chambers.

The angry crowd chanted in unison as they entered the building shouting, “stop the steal.” The situation soon escalated as rioters began scaling the building and breaking into the individual offices, including house speaker Nancy Pelosi’s.

One video captured from ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore showed Moore questioning a protester about the purpose of storming the congress building. His response was, “because they work for us; they don’t get to steal it from us, they don’t get to tell us we didn’t see what we saw.” This was in reference to the disproven claims of election rigging that took place during the 2020 presidential election.

As the afternoon progressed, the members of the house security team began barricading the doors to the chamber where Congress was previously in session. In the meantime, protesters continued to wreak havoc on the building, looting and vandalizing throughout. It wasn’t until later in the evening, around 6 p.m., that the violence was quelled, and further law enforcement was brought onto the scene. While the chaos ensued, members of government pleaded for former president Trump to publicly abate the actions of his followers.

At around 4 p.m. the former president finally shared a pre-recorded video on his Twitter account in which he said, “you have to go home now; we have to have peace. So go home. We love you.” The video, which was posted to the former president’s Twitter account, was removed shortly after due to concerns that it incited violence. The company then permanently suspended his account altogether as a result of his behavior violating a number of their company policies including their Glorification of Violence policy.

What is left to show from this infamous day in American history?

The riots resulted in the deaths of five people, the arrests of 100 (with countless more investigations underway, according to the FBI), and wounds from a violent insurrection against democracy. The question that stands now is why did these people choose to do this?

For months now former president Trump has been on a tyrannical quest to prove that this past election was “rigged” and stolen by the Democrats. Shortly following Nov. 6, dozens of lawsuits were filed in response to these claims, the majority of them being thrown out for lack of evidence and proof in the weeks following.

Despite the lack of evidence to his claims, Trump has continued to speak openly about the flaws in the election process and how his adversaries would do (and, he believes, seemingly have done) everything to stop him from being re-elected.

Three days prior to the storming, Trump spoke openly at one of his rallies saying, “all of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats, which is what they’re doing. And stolen by the fake news media. That’s what they’ve done and what they’re doing. We will never give up; we will never concede.”

This statement from Trump solidifies the fact that no matter the outcome, he will never accept defeat. No matter what is said, no matter how much this conflict splits the Republican party and the U.S., Trump has driven his message into the hearts of his supporters. In Trump’s eyes, and now the eyes of many Americans, the U.S. is a corrupt nation being strangled by the blue hand of the Democratic Party.

But what is to come this year? At what point will the political violence and tyranny end?

Following President Joe Biden’s inauguration, it will be up to him and his administration to heal this deeply divided nation. This unification will be in the hope that Americans stop classifying one another based on their political party, and so that they can finally feel confident they live in a fair and equal democracy. While this battle for unity might be one that stretches onward for years to come, it is incumbent upon us as citizens to try our best to work for a better tomorrow, every day.